Page 21 of Lorcan

“We shall drink over it,” he said. “For now, my brother Luka and I will rest.”

“Jetlag is a bitch,” Killian came up behind them. He and Luka had always been close since I introduced them years ago. He led them up the staircase as the foyer emptied.

“Yakuza, Bratva, Barone Crime Family,” Ace said. “Is there anyone who isn’t on your side?”

“Plenty,” I replied. “I’ve yet to see anyone from Wales, or America, even Australia haven’t come by.”

“Who do you know in Australia?” he asked.

“Presley,” I told him. “You know of her?”

“The bitch who took out her own family to rule?” Hawk asked with a smirk. “I could sure use one of her in my bed.”

“Don’t let her catch you saying that,” I said. “She’s taken out stronger men for less.”

The smile was wiped off his face, and a silence befell the foyer as we looked at each other, neither of us backing down. Ace let out a barrel of a laugh, breaking the tension.

“Careful, Hawk, you’re not as skilled with the trap between a woman’s legs as we are,” he said. “You’ll be taken half alive, and probably end up in chains, just like the last man who tried to take on a mafia queen.”

I knew he was talking about Nell, one of the hardest drug runners in Columbia. She had been raised in the Bronx, and she was as tough as nails. When she married a Columbian and took on his lifestyle, she accepted her fate until one night he took things too far and she ended him and his entire crew, before running his empire up the ladder and becoming a formidable enemy to anyone who dared to try and take her.

I loved her spirit.

But she wasn’t someone you fucked with.

And I respected the hell out of her for that.

“The French aren’t here.”

I heard the annoyance in Saverio’s tone as he joined me, looking over the dispersed members.

“Did you expect them to be on our side?”

“Not after the drama with his sister.”

“Not much drama, she wanted a pounding, I gave her one. It’s not as if Celine was a keeper. Half of France had been there before I got there.”

I snorted, knowing just how true that was. It didn’t stop Alec and Charles from declaring war on Italy and us it seems.

“Get some rest, Sav. I’ll see you at dinner.”

He didn’t respond, but I knew he would do what he needed to. I’d not had a moment to myself since the girls left. Bridget had been annoyed, and I knew she’d probably do something stupid like leave when she got there but Teeghan knew what to expect.

I was lucky I had her, she was a force to be reckoned with.

So was Bridget as it turned out.

I had no idea why I was so pulled to her, why I felt like I had to lock her away to protect her, or why I couldn’t just simply let her walk away but I knew better than to go against my gut.

The last time had been tragic, I wouldn’t allow that again.

I got to my office and sat down in my chair, leaning back into it as I closed my eyes. Images of a naked Bridget underneath me as I drilled into her assaulted my vision and I immediately opened my eyes to stop it.

Fuck.

I picked up my phone and called Keeva.

“Hello?”

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